Liberty to probe Falwell’s tenure
RICHMOND, Va. — Liberty University is opening an independent investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that will include financial, real estate and legal matters, the evangelical school’s board announced.
In a statement, the board said Monday it has retained an outside firm to investigate “all facets” of the school’s operations under Falwell and is “committed to learning the consequences that have flowed from a lack of spiritual stewardship by our former president.”
Calls for such an investigation had been mounting since Falwell’s departure last week from the post he had held since 2007.
He officially resigned on Tuesday, after a confusing day of back-and-forths about whether he would be leaving. His departure came after a news outlet published an interview with Giancarlo Granda, a much-younger business partner of the Falwell family. Granda said that he had a yearslong sexual relationship with Becki Falwell, the university president’s wife, and that Jerry Falwell participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.
Although the Falwells have acknowledged that Granda and Becki Falwell had an affair, Jerry Falwell has denied any participation. The couple allege that Granda sought to extort them by threatening to reveal the relationship unless he was paid a substantial sum.
The couple said in a statement provided to the Associated Press late Sunday that they support Liberty’s board and “welcome any inquiry, as we have nothing to hide.”
Liberty’s statement acknowledged that Falwell’s sharpest critics have long been calling for a departure.
“Some may say that all the signs were there for a long time before last week,” the statement said. “It’s certainly fair to say that there were questionable comments made, worrying behavior, and inappropriate social media posts, but all the signs were not there until the start of last week.”
That was not good enough for some of Falwell’s most vocal opponents. Save71, a recently formed nonprofit aimed at mobilizing Liberty students, alumni and faculty members to push for reform, said in a statement that the board “needs to disclose a lot more about this investigation for the Liberty community to trust its legitimacy.”
The board’s statement did not name the firm it has hired.
Others were more encouraged. Karen Swallow Prior, a recently departed English professor at Liberty who had been critical of Falwell, said the investigation announcement was good news.
“I hope that they adhere to the highest standards of not only investigation but also reporting the findings,” added Prior, a prominent Christian academic who now teaches at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina.
David Nasser, Liberty’s senior vice president for spiritual development, quickly praised the board’s actions, suggesting that other university leaders are eager to move beyond the Falwell era. Days earlier, Nasser publicly apologized to students for the “embarrassment” he said Falwell’s scandals had caused the school.
Liberty’s board also said it is considering establishing a post aimed at offering spiritual guidance for university leaders to ensure that they “live out the Christian walk expected of each and every one of us at Liberty.”
The idea underscores the board’s concern over the degree to which Falwell’s alleged personal conduct would have violated the school’s behavioral codes. Before his resignation, Falwell was on an indefinite leave of absence after an uproar over a photo he posted on social media of him and his wife’s pregnant assistant, both with their pants unzipped.
Falwell said it was taken in good fun at a costume party during a vacation, but critics saw it as evidence of hypocrisy by the head of an institution that holds students to a strict moral code of conduct. For his part, Falwell told the AP last week that “I never broke a single rule that applies to staff members at Liberty, which I was.”